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Blow   /bloʊ/   Listen
noun
Blow  n.  (Bot.) A blossom; a flower; also, a state of blossoming; a mass of blossoms. "Such a blow of tulips."


Blow  n.  
1.
A forcible stroke with the hand, fist, or some instrument, as a rod, a club, an ax, or a sword. "Well struck! there was blow for blow."
2.
A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. "A vigorous blow might win (Hanno's camp)."
3.
The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss (esp. when sudden); a buffet. "A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows."
At a blow, suddenly; at one effort; by a single vigorous act. "They lose a province at a blow."
To come to blows, to engage in combat; to fight; said of individuals, armies, and nations.
Synonyms: Stroke; knock; shock; misfortune.


Blow  n.  
1.
A blowing, esp., a violent blowing of the wind; a gale; as, a heavy blow came on, and the ship put back to port.
2.
The act of forcing air from the mouth, or through or from some instrument; as, to give a hard blow on a whistle or horn; to give the fire a blow with the bellows.
3.
The spouting of a whale.
4.
(Metal.) A single heat or operation of the Bessemer converter.
5.
An egg, or a larva, deposited by a fly on or in flesh, or the act of depositing it.


verb
Blow  v. t.  (past blew; past part. blown; pres. part. blowing)  To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers). "The odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled hue."


Blow  v. t.  (past blew; past part. blown; pres. part. blowing)  
1.
To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means; as, to blow the fire.
2.
To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew the ship ashore. "Off at sea northeast winds blow Sabean odors from the spicy shore."
3.
To cause air to pass through by the action of the mouth, or otherwise; to cause to sound, as a wind instrument; as, to blow a trumpet; to blow an organ; to blow a horn. "Hath she no husband That will take pains to blow a horn before her?" "Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise, Then cast it off to float upon the skies."
4.
To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow an egg; to blow one's nose.
5.
To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; usually with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a building.
6.
To spread by report; to publish; to disclose; to reveal, intentionally or inadvertently; as, to blow an agent's cover. "Through the court his courtesy was blown." "His language does his knowledge blow."
7.
To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to blow bubbles; to blow glass.
8.
To inflate, as with pride; to puff up. "Look how imagination blows him."
9.
To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as, to blow a horse.
10.
To deposit eggs or larvae upon, or in (meat, etc.). "To suffer The flesh fly blow my mouth."
11.
To perform an act of fellatio on; to stimulate another's penis with one's mouth; usually considered vulgar. (slang)
12.
To smoke (e. g. marijuana); to blow pot. (colloq.)
13.
To botch; to bungle; as, he blew his chance at a good job by showing up late for the interview. (colloq.)
14.
To leave; to depart from; as, to blow town. (slang)
15.
To squander; as, he blew his inheritance gambling. (colloq.)
To blow great guns, to blow furiously and with roaring blasts; said of the wind at sea or along the coast.
To blow off, to empty (a boiler) of water through the blow-off pipe, while under steam pressure; also, to eject (steam, water, sediment, etc.) from a boiler.
To blow one's own trumpet, to vaunt one's own exploits, or sound one's own praises.
To blow out, to extinguish by a current of air, as a candle.
To blow up.
(a)
To fill with air; to swell; as, to blow up a bladder or bubble.
(b)
To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.; to puff up; as, to blow one up with flattery. "Blown up with high conceits engendering pride."
(c)
To excite; as, to blow up a contention.
(d)
To burst, to raise into the air, or to scatter, by an explosion; as, to blow up a fort.
(e)
To scold violently; as, to blow up a person for some offense. (Colloq.) "I have blown him up well nobody can say I wink at what he does."
To blow upon.
(a)
To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to render stale, unsavory, or worthless.
(b)
To inform against. (Colloq.) "How far the very custom of hearing anything spouted withers and blows upon a fine passage, may be seen in those speeches from (Shakespeare's) Henry V. which are current in the mouths of schoolboys." "A lady's maid whose character had been blown upon."


Blow  v. i.  (past blew; past part. blown; pres. part. blowing)  To flower; to blossom; to bloom. "How blows the citron grove."


Blow  v. i.  (past blew; past part. blown; pres. part. blowing)  
1.
To produce a current of air; to move, as air, esp. to move rapidly or with power; as, the wind blows. "Hark how it rains and blows!"
2.
To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth or from a pair of bellows.
3.
To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. "Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing."
4.
To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet. "There let the pealing organ blow."
5.
To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale.
6.
To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in from the street. "The grass blows from their graves to thy own."
7.
To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. (Colloq.) "You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face."
8.
To stop functioning due to a failure in an electrical circuit, especially on which breaks the circuit; sometimes used with out; used of light bulbs, electronic components, fuses; as, the dome light in the car blew out.
9.
To deflate by sudden loss of air; usually used with out; of inflatable tires.
To blow hot and cold, to favor a thing at one time and treat it coldly at another; or to appear both to favor and to oppose.
To blow off, to let steam escape through a passage provided for the purpose; as, the engine or steamer is blowing off.
To blow out.
(a)
To be driven out by the expansive force of a gas or vapor; as, a steam cock or valve sometimes blows out.
(b)
To talk violently or abusively. (Low)
To blow over, to pass away without effect; to cease, or be dissipated; as, the storm and the clouds have blown over.
To blow up, to be torn to pieces and thrown into the air as by an explosion of powder or gas or the expansive force of steam; to burst; to explode; as, a powder mill or steam boiler blows up. "The enemy's magazines blew up."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Blow" Quotes from Famous Books



... punishment, things had seemed to go wrong with him all day. In the afternoon the Rochester baseball team had knocked three Toronto pitchers out of the box, a blow-up which had cost the loyal Mr. Kendrick twenty-five dollars and a loss of reputation as an authority on International League standings. Then in the evening, in the crowd out at The Beach, somebody had taken hold of his silk ribbon fob and gently removed the gold ...
— Every Man for Himself • Hopkins Moorhouse
... "To blow up and destroy with their cargoes and crews any and all vessels belonging to Great Britain, France, Japan or Russia found within the limits of Canada, which were laden with horses, munitions of war, or ...
— History of the World War - An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War • Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish
... of the academical system of England is such that no event which seriously affects the interests and honour of either University can fail to excite a strong feeling throughout the country. Every successive blow, therefore, which fell on Magdalene College, was felt to the extremities of the kingdom. In the coffeehouses of London, in the Inns of Court, in the closes of all the Cathedral towns, in parsonages and manor houses scattered over the remotest shires, pity for the sufferers and indignation ...
— The History of England from the Accession of James II. - Volume 2 (of 5) • Thomas Babington Macaulay
... to see Count Gamba, who expected him, for some charitable purpose which they were to agree upon together. A violent storm burst forth suddenly, and the wind tore a tile from a roof, and caused it to fall on Shelley's head. The blow was very great, and his forehead was covered with blood. This, however, did not in the least prevent his proceeding on his way. When Count Gamba saw him in this state he was much alarmed, and asked him ...
— My Recollections of Lord Byron • Teresa Guiccioli
... honest in our professions of want of ambition. I know that I feel none, and to-day will gladly surrender my position and influence to any other who is better able to wield the power. The flurry attending my recent success will soon blow over and give place to new developments." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 103. In the same letter Sherman referred to the farewell order General Butler had addressed to his troops on being relieved ...
— Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V2 • Jacob Dolson Cox


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